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Should I ship a Science Space Sim?
Space Sim + Science
Of 44 developers who shipped a Science Space Sim in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 85 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3339 the market median. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 85 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,194) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,742) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,151) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 144 |
| Announced | 85 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 200% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Space Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Physics, Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 17,968 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Space Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DestructionFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + WarFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SportsFair
- + DiplomacyLong shot
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Strategy RPGPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Kerbal Space Program 2015 · $145M 
Kerbal Space Program 2 2023 · EA · $42M 
Universe Sandbox 2015 · EA · $25M 
SpaceEngine 2019 · EA · $14M 
Space Engineers 2 2025 · EA · $4.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kerbal Space Program | older | $39.99 | 120,656 95% | 3.6M | $145M (exactly $144,751,003) | Squad |
| | Kerbal Space Program 2 | · EA older | $49.99 | 27,930 26% | 838k | $42M (exactly $41,886,621) | Intercept Games |
| | Universe Sandbox | · EA older | $29.99 | 27,843 96% | 835k | $25M (exactly $25,050,347) | Giant Army |
| | SpaceEngine | · EA older | $29.99 | 15,826 96% | 475k | $14M (exactly $14,238,652) | Cosmographic Software |
| | Space Engineers 2 | · EA | $29.99 | 5,095 74% | 153k | $4.6M (exactly $4,583,972) | Keen Software House |
 | Spaceflight Simulator | · EA older | $14.99 | 9,431 96% | 283k | $4.2M (exactly $4,241,121) | Team Curiosity ✦ |
 | Starpoint Gemini 2 | older | $34.99 | 3,021 70% | 91k | $3.2M (exactly $3,171,144) | Little Green Men Games |
 | SpaceBourne 2 | $19.99 | 4,951 75% | 149k | $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) | Burak Dabak | |
 | Star Trek: Infinite | older | $29.99 | 3,030 41% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,726,091) | Nimble Giant Entertainment |
 | Mars First Logistics | $19.99 | 3,497 94% | 105k | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,151) | Shape Shop | |
 | Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator | $34.99 | 1,319 97% | 40k | $1.4M (exactly $1,384,554) | Lyra Creative | |
 | The Last Starship | $19.99 | 1,623 75% | 49k | $973k (exactly $973,313) | Introversion Software | |
 | Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager | · EA | $17.99 | 1,252 87% | 38k | $676k (exactly $675,704) | SpaceOps |
 | I Fetch Rocks | $15.99 | 110 94% | 3.3k | $53k (exactly $52,767) | SarumXR | |
 | Possible One: Lunar Industries | · EA | $24.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $40k (exactly $39,734) | Upstairs Games |
 | Periapsis: Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 53 71% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $23,834) | Skytrellis Games |
 | Meco Rocket Simulator | · EA | $49.69 | 15 80% | 450 | $22k (exactly $22,360) | Loren Aerospace |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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